Draft control



y 2, 1950 R. w. FRANKS 2,506,497

DRAFT CONTROL Filed Feb. 7, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 2,1950 R. W.-FRANKS 2,506,497

DRAFT CONTROL Filed Feb. 7, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

By c941 Patented May 2, 1950 ae n DEA-E l CONTBOL Rove a tage hi a r a. ApplicatiomEebruary 7, 194 7,;Serial No.-7. 27,26-1

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invent n elates tadrart. n o aforsmall. heat r ew tehhe ra. furnace and other com:

d: has. f grits object..- to ..pr

ba tion. chambers n1 emcien cgnomi al y vide. a new n 1 manu a tur r-1.draftfiontm whicha l f. he.

nartsth reotwill e quickly; an easi y m de a d ssembled A further object is to provide a draft control.

hich wi lhare hesca ine constructed t at h ane m y be placed there n. from. th v r lcator s, nabl nath ne rderit itosbe. ut l zes 0 ertica i ee qnzont l ipes. r,

horizont p nes. un ing rom...the,. ombu t n chamber at ny an le. t er betw nes i l t rthe robiett is to rovide a me and draftwetrd-yane s ampes irom nepiecewi h he a ereve s d an s ser ed i to. e ope n more? f rmed l ra t qntrale asine, hev

casing being grooved. on all four sides so, that her i oftwop e. ial ea dsroqveaadapt n c e me nd. nii e q tr lif n se a in d vertie. al z n pri gntal os t ons thogt v riation nro .thejpartsl here f,

A still further object is to providea draft control having a vane mounted diagonally therein and counterweighted to provide for any amount of draft, the wei hts to vheapplied at the factory to. meet certain predetermined draft requirements. i

A still furtherobject is to providea draft control having a vane mounted'diagonally in the draft casing, the vane to be weighted so that the weight 9 ounterha ancemay .beadjusted at the time of installation to meet varying requirements of the individual installation, should such be necessary.

"lh the drawings Figure 1 is a plan View of my draft control.

Figure 2 is a face view of the device, looking into the draft opening.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an edge view of the removable frame and operating vane assembly, showing how it would appear when removed from the device.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical section of a part of the casing, showing the position of the frame and vane therein.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a modified type of the device.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of Figure 6.

an rene ei sert lt om. ither shown the. casing forholding mycontrol as acase. ing A, as squareor rectangular.v in crossJsectionwith, the, one. end. out; on 1 two sides. in arcuatecurvesto f t against theiside of 1a .fiue; pipe sectionaround an openingecutrtherefrom-and secured thereto byiwelding. on otherisuitable means. The flue pipe Bis,formedrwith onerend :tOsfit into. the

next succeedingsectionoflpipe and thelother end to;.s1ip,..ore1aa preceding. section.

Thesidewalls of the casing Aareformed-from a single sheet of .;material .=f ormed with slanting groovesgfi, extending, in from the open endon an incline; of. approximately forty-"five.- degrees. the groouesfi being madev in pairs, .one groove ,on each sidewall of the casing soflthatia .frameC may be. inserted. into .the casing by sliding the sides, down the opposed grooves .in. the casing,-

The, two .alternatejsides; of Y the. casing A; are; formed. alike so that :whendesired theiramework.

may be inserted into likepairsofigrooves 5;.whenusing the draft controlona, horizontal or .sloping pipe or flue.

Extending. down from. the .grooves.- 5 tnear .the.

open end of, the casing, theraare. reinforcing:

rooves onribs; Land extending v up fromitheinner l end of the grooves 5wnthereware lilre-reinforcing;

ribst. Thesesets of groovesformed. on each surface of each. side, of. the casing. Aenable wtheman:

ufacturerto make. the sides .ofthe casing of thin. material butrhavingrsufficient strength due .to. th grooving o ribbing therein.

The frame QC for, supporting thevaneof the device .is made of :a flat. sheet "of metal having the.,centlfal,,area stamped .therefromv forming. a; rectangular, framework;;..with; a. central large.

opening therethrough. The two sides 9 and III are bent down to form flanges or sidewalls along each edge and the end II is bent down likewise to form an end wall, and both the sidewalls and end wall are then bent out to form a three-sided outwardly extended flange around the sides of the frame, which are inserted into the casing A. The two side flanges l2 and I3 of the outwardly bent flange are adapted to be inserted into any two opposed grooves 5 as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings with the end flange l4 adapted to extend down to meet the bottom Wall of the casing A to shut off draft around the perimeter of the frame 6, and the outer end of the frame C is bent upwardly, forming a flange I adapted to engage the outer end of the top of the casing A, sealing off draft from that side of the casing. Thus the draft will entirely pass through the opening in the frame C. When such conditions occur, that draft is passing through the casing A. The vane D for controlling the passage of draft or air through the casing is made from the section which is stamped from or cut out of the frame C, and this vane D is rectangular in cross section and is reinforced by stampin ribs l'i around the vane spaced in a short distance from each edge forming a rectangular reinforcing rib entirely around the vane. Bearing supports for the vane are struck from opposite sides of the frame C to form brackets l8 and 19 to receive the stub shafts for supporting the vane. The stub shafts 29 or hearing shafts for the vane are made from phonograph needles or like shafts may be used on large size models. These shafts are secured to the outer underside of the vane by striking spaced apart strips from the opposite sides thereof and after setting the ends of the bearing shafts thereunder gripping the metal down thereon to hold the shafts in place. The ends of the shafts being pointed will not cause friction when engaged against the side flanges l2 and I3 of the frame C, which engagement might occur should the device be set in a fine pipe which would place the entire casing A slightly off from true horizontal or vertical as the case might be.

A predetermined weight W is attached to the top face of the vane D above the bearing or pivotal line and the weight and position of this weight will be figured at the factory to meet the draft conditions for which the device is made.

Some of these drafts may be made with the weight W adjustable by adding or removing thin sheets or strips of metal therefrom or thereto or by providing screws to be used to shift the weight up or down.

In Figures 6, '7, 8 and 9 I have shown a modification of my invention in which the casing A is shown with reinforcing ribs X formed on all four sides thereof to give added strength and rigidity to the casing A.

The frame for providing a draft opening through the casing and supporting the draft responsive vane consists of a rectangular framework 25 having the top end 25 turned back into a clamp 21 which clamp is adapted to engage along the top edge of the casing A.

The bottom of the frame 25 is provided with spaced apart ears or lugs 21 which are adapted. to pass through spaced holes 28 in the base of the casing A and be clamped or bent up against the bottom of the casing to lock the framework in position sloping downwardly and inwardly from the top of the outside opening and toward the flue pipe 13'. The vane D mounted in the frame by bearing pins 20' in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 2 and described heretofore. A depression 29 is provided in the face of the vane D to receive a counterweight if found necessary.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A draft control device of the class described, comprisin a rectangular hollow body having slanting grooves formed in opposite sides there of, into which grooves a framework may be inserted; a framework for insertion into said grooves comprising a rectangular member having the edges extended as flanges to fit into said groove; and a control vane pivotally mounted in said framework adapted to open and close commensurate with the variation of draft in the flue pipe.

2. A draft control device of the class described comprising a rectangular body having slanting grooves formed in opposite sides thereof inclined on the same angle; a framework for insertion into said grooves comprising a rectangular member having flanges formed along the edges thereof and adapted to fit into said grooves in l the rectangular body and a control frame pivotis pivotally ally mounted in said framework adapted to open or close commensurate with the variation of draft through a flue pipe to which the rectangular body is attached.

3. A draft control of the class described comprising a cylindrical section of flue pipe having a rectangular body attached into open connection with slanting grooves formed in opposite sides of said body to permit insertion of a framework either horizontally or vertically as desired; a framework adapted to be inserted into said grooves and a control vane pivotally mounted in said framework and resting when closed at an angle to the rectangular body.

4. A draft control device comprising a hollow rectangular body having pairs of slanting grooves formed in opposite sides thereof; a rectangular framework adapted to be engaged in either pair of opposite grooves depending upon the position and use of the device; and a control vane pivotally mounted in said rectangular framework adapted to close the opening through the framework when no draft is passing through the hollow body.

ROYE W. FRANKS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,268,348 Stephenson Dec. 30, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 846,714 France June 12, 1939 

